Top 3 purification techniques from Yoga
Purification techniques, or Sat Karmas, are an important part of yoga as a lifestyle. They are part of a set of everyday choices, which include for example a proper diet, that aim to keep body and mind balanced.
Purification techniques in yoga are also related to one of its main values, saucam, purification and cleansing, which relate to the purification of the external and internal body, and mind. It emphasizes the need of taking a bath, having and healthy diet, including meditation regularly in our tasks, having good thoughts, and off course, practicing the Sat Karmas.
Top purification techniques and how to do them
The top purification techniques are many times referred as being six, since Sat means six, and Karmas, action, but they are in fact six groups of practices, that unfold in many others. In this article, we present you the universally known ones.
Agnisara Dhauti
Agnisara Dhauti or agnisara kriya is a Hatha Yoga technique that allows a massage in the abdominal organs, promoting its correct functioning. This purification technique promotes the fire element in our body, that is intimately connected to the digestive system, promoting a healthy digestion, one of the most important things to have a healthy body.
In addition, it strengthens the internal organs. The technique is performed by exhaling all air out and sucking the abdomen in and up. Holding the breath, we release the belly and suck it again. The process is continuously repeated as fast as possible, for the time we can keep on holding our breathing.
To end the cycle, release the abdomen and slowly inhale. At least three cycles are recommended. It’s highly recommended that your stomach is empty.
Nauli
To do nauli is necessary to be already comfortable with the previous purification technique we explored, agnisara dhauti. Its emphasis is on the intestine and the special characteristic about it is that it isolates the right and left side of the rectus abdominis.
In a standing position, we keep the feet apart, the knees bent and hands on the legs. Exhaling the air out, suck the abdomen in and up.
Hold the breath and start the rotation movement of the muscles in clockwise direction. Repeat for the time you can hold your breath and then relax your muscles before slowly inhaling. This makes one cycle of nauli.
Repeat on the other direction. The ideal is to do six cycles, but do at least two, every day in the morning.
Trataka
This is a more subtle technique that somehow can be seen as a bridge between a more dense practice of yoga and a more subtle one, improving focus capacity and a regenerative effect on the eyes.
It consists in fixing the look and focus in one object. As a method, when focusing the look, the mind is taken to the object and stays in a oblivion state. That object can be external or internal, and sometimes people make a combination of both.
When the goal is to work on the focus and concentration, the object must stay still, like a candle, for example. We can also do the practice by altering between looking to the point of the nose and then focus in long distance.
These are three of the most common and really important purification techniques in yoga. They can become complex and it’s better to learn with a teacher, but since not all teachers pass this to their students, it’s a good idea to start exploring for yourself, always with consciousness and respect for your own body.
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